Dark Lords and Kitsunes
by Gambito
Summary: Harry is shocked to learn that the prophecy is fake, but Dumbledore reveals on his deathbed that he has to 'vanquish' the Dark Lord in a completely different way than what the prophecy intended and with it comes a revelation that the Dark Lord is a lot less 'human' than anyone expected.


_**Dark Lords and Kitsunes**_

 _ **Ok so this is my second one-shot. The rating is mostly just to be safe since this is one of those happy-slash fanfics even though there is a character death involved. We all know that the characters belong to J.K. Rowling and that I am making absolutely no money out of the fanfics I write (kind of makes you wish that they would create a law to bypass that or something since most of us would love to write stories every single day, but alas it is not so.)**_

 _ **If you missed the warning somewhere in the previous paragraph… or skipped over it… this is SLASH, meaning boy x boy even though nothing happens apart from kissing and maybe one or two words that could be considered swearing.**_

 **Now without further ado:**

Harry watched closely as the Dark Lord's army marched towards the castle. The man himself had been in his thoughts a lot more than what he deemed necessary as he thought about what he had to do. He looked down into the courtyards and saw Minerva, Severus, Sirius, Remus Ron, Hermione, the Twins and the rest of the light side holding up the shield around them. He would never have made it without their help.

 _ **Flashback…**_

It was two weeks after they helped Sirius escape that Professor Snape suddenly came to pick him up. At first he thought that he was in trouble, but he came to the conclusion that it was something much worse as the potions master completely forgot to snarl at him as they made their way to Hogwarts.

He felt the stress get progressively worse as he saw that most of the school and the members of the order were there. Snape silently led him to Dumbledore's office, but he didn't accompany him inside. At first nothing had seemed out of the ordinary until he realized that even though Dumbledore looked like his old self at a glance, the man in fact had a fevered appearance and it was as if he couldn't sit straight.

The man limply motioned for him to sit and Harry sank down into the chair as he frowned. "Are you alright sir? Should I go fetch Madam Pomfrey?" The headmaster shook his head with a sad smile. "No my boy, nothing can be done. I admit that I have done something foolish to warrant this, but I don't have much time and there is something you should know."

Harry's eyes widened and he felt a lump grow in his throat. "Surely there is something that can be done? What do you mean you do not have much time?" The lump grew and he was forced to swallow as Dumbledore gave him a pointed look. "Nothing can be done Harry. Now listen to me, there is something important that you should know about Voldemort."

Harry nodded, but he felt anger well up inside of him. He didn't know how Voldemort got to Dumbledore, but the man would pay for all the hurt he caused everyone. Harry turned confused as the headmaster gave a sad shake of his head. "It is not really Voldemort's fault Harry. There are certain circumstances that have led to the man being as he was and as you know he is not really gone yet."

Harry nodded but he was still completely confused as the man continued to speak. "Voldemort was first known as Tom Marvolo Riddle. His mother grew up in a house with her father and her brother who both treated her much like your muggle family treated you. And I say treated because you are not going back there after Sirius asked me to look into your living conditions. I am sorry for not believing you about them Harry. You will be living with Sirius from now on. I have helped to have his name cleared since we were able to capture Peter Pettigrew and Sirius has been approved by a mind healer as well. Apparently he was able to mostly avoid the death eaters by staying in his dog form."

Dumbledore smiled as Harry jumped up in excitement, but then he remembered what they were talking about. "Thank you, sir. What happened to Vol-eh I mean Tom's mother?" Dumbledore sighed. "She fell in love with a muggle even though her father and brother were purists. He did not even notice her, but she fed him love potions with the idea that he would come to love her with time. They married and he took her away from her father and brother, but she stopped giving him the potion when she became pregnant and things only got worse until Tom's mother died in childbirth."

Harry grimaced as a strange feeling tugged in his chest. _No way! He was not feeling sorry for the monster!_ But he couldn't help it. "What about Tom's father? Did he take care of him?" Dumbledore shook his head and Harry frowned. The fever seemed to be getting worse. "No Harry, Tom's father abandoned him and he was left at an orphanage where the children started to fear him and see him as strange. He started acting out by taking things that didn't belong to him and he was somehow able to control his magic from a very young age."

The headmasters face turned thoughtful as he talked. "I should actually have recognized it for what it was at the time, but I didn't. There was a rumor that he did something to a few of the other orphans when they tried to attack him and something changed between the first and second visit I made there. It was only a year later when I finally figured out that he was a Void-Kitsune."

The brunet looked confused. "What's a Void-Kitsune sir?" Dumbledore sighed. "Some witches and wizards gain a magical as well as a creature heritage when they come of age, but a Void-Kitsune is created, not born and as such it can occur at any time. It is created when a person's magic snaps in such a way that they lose their emotions and only the Void-Kitsune's true mate can bring those emotions back. Without emotions a Void-Kitsune grows more unstable as time goes on until they are completely insane. It was why I refused to give him the Defence Against the Dark Arts position."

Harry paled. "So if Tom had found his mate then he wouldn't have tried to take over the Wizarding World?" Dumbledore shook his head. "No, at least not like he is currently trying to. Tom was always ambitious and I have no doubt that he would have easily reached Minister if he had followed the political path, but both his upbringing and the circumstances of his mind prompted him to take a more drastic approach."

Dumbledore's gaze turned wistful. "Unfortunately his mate had not yet been born at that time. He left school after graduating and returned as the Dark Lord. Near the end of the war I was interviewing a woman for the Divination position since it was already proven that she had the sight. She made a prediction that shook me to my core. It was the prophesy which stated that a child will be born to defeat Voldemort. We all believed it and I helped your parents to hide, but something wasn't right about it. The centaur herd had always been good with reading the stars and they told me that the child was Tom Marvolo Riddle's mate, not his enemy. The prophecy had been changed since the woman believed that the world would be doomed if she relayed the real one."

Harry sat and listened to the headmaster, but it was if the information didn't want to sink in. Dumbledore went quiet as he waited for Harry to process what he had just said. There was no twinkle in his eyes nor was there a smile on his face. He just sat that and waited for the explosion that was sure to follow the silence and Harry of course, didn't disappoint.

"WHAT?! How can I be his mate? He's been trying to kill me ever since I was born! He actually DID kill my parents and he would think nothing of killing any friends or family I have left now. If I actually was his mate, wouldn't he have regained his sanity when he saw me as a baby? As freaky as that actually sounds." Harry breathed hard. _He was right, surely he wasn't the Dark Lord mate. The centaurs must have read the stars wrong or they must have mistaken a satellite for a star or something._

Dumbledore shook his head. "They are not wrong Harry. Have you ever heard of Horcruxes?" The teen shook his head. "Well Horcruxes is a dark magic that allows the user to split their soul through murder so that they cannot die. If you kill one piece of the soul, the person resurrects with another part. I am not saying that Tom was completely innocent, but as he lost his mind he developed a fear of dying. This prompted him to make Horcruxes since it was the only way, except for the philosopher stone, that would enable him to become immortal."

Harry closed his eyes and sighed. "Let me guess. In his fear he made more than one and this made him even more insane." Dumbledore nodded then frowned. "It was also why he couldn't feel that you are his mate. His soul cannot find its soul mate if it is broken into seven pieces. Unfortunately I didn't realize this at the time and I tried to warn him that his mate would be in danger if he attacked your family. He took this as a threat instead of realizing that I was trying to help him and now he thinks that I killed his mate the same night that he attacked your family. So since you survived where his mate didn't, he now has a very personal grudge against you."

Harry looked at his feet. _This is so bloody twisted. Can't my life be easy for once?_ He looked up at the headmaster again. "So, what now? Am I still supposed to kill him?" Dumbledore shook his head sadly. "No Harry, you don't have to kill him. I understand that he has wronged you and the rest of the Wizarding World a great many times, but he never had a chance against his past. You would also find that he would be very different if he was sane. But to do that you would have to destroy the containers so that the Horcruxes can go back to their original owner. Unfortunately you would have to wait until he has a body again to do this, but I have already collected three of the seven Horcruxes. Luckily I was wrong when I thought that Voldemort's snake was a horcrux since it was actually Gryffindor's sword and you have already freed the Horcrux in the diary."

Dumbledore sighed and Harry's body immediately tensed. _Of course there would be more._ "What is it sir?" The old man looked at the brunet. "I have something to tell you Harry, but you should not freak out since it won't hurt you, just be very cautious." Harry frowned but nodded.

"The night that Voldemort tried to kill you, he made you into a Horcrux, but since he died at the same time, the main piece of his soul split once more before entering you." Harry flinched but didn't speak as the headmaster continued. "You might have found that your dreams recently show memories or situations involving Voldemort." Harry just nodded numbly. "That is the result of the Horcrux in the diary fixing onto the soul piece in you, instead of the soul piece that the Dark Lord currently holds. That is why I do not want you to risk destroying any more Horcrux containers since his soul is more mature than yours and you will run the risk of being taken over." Harry felt like he was about to feint as he sank back into his chair.

"What can be done about it, sir? How can we bring back the 'sane' Tom if his soul runs the risk of taking over mine? What am I even saying? I was worried that I was in some kind of trouble earlier, but I'd even take detention with Filch if it got me out of this." Dumbledore nodded sadly. "Severus is already trying to find a way to transfer the Horcruxes from you into an object. It may take a while, but it will be done and all you have to do in the meantime is to just find the Horcruxes instead of destroying their containers as well."

Harry nodded. His entire body felt numb. _Today really seems like a day for sharing. Lucky me! How long have Dumbledore known about…!_ His train of thought was suddenly interrupted by a rough cough and he jumped forward to help the headmaster as the man doubled over in pain. The old man smiled gratefully as he weakly leaned back after his coughing fit. "I am fine now Harry. Thank you. I fear my time is almost gone. You will find the instructions to the other Horcruxes here along with the way you can restore his sanity." He handed Harry an envelope.

"Trust your friends. Don't try to do everything alone. I promise that they will understand once you explain things to them. Now off you go. Sirius is waiting outside for you. Could you send in Minerva and Severus for me please." Harry nodded, but as he reached the door he heard a soft trill. He turned around and found Fawkes flying to him so he held out his arm. The song the phoenix sang next sounded sad as it landed on his arm and rubbed its face against his and Harry had to force himself to not cry. He knew that Fawkes was saying goodbye. A phoenix never knew where they would be reborn as their master dies after all. It may be a day or it may take centuries. The life of a phoenix was forever dictated by fate.

Harry smiled sadly as the bird returned to its perch and he left the office before closing the door behind him. A few hours later it was proclaimed that Minerva would be taking the post as headmistress until the war was over. Then it would be given to Severus since he currently still had to spy on the Dark Lord to help Harry.

 _ **End flashback…**_

Harry grimaced slightly as he looked around Hogwarts. The problem of the Horcruxes in his body was sorted by none other than Voldemort himself when he performed the ritual to return. It had been a long year due to the fact that Harry had to participate in the Tri-Wizard Tournament while searching for the rest of the Horcruxes. He had been shocked by their understanding and worry, but it had given him strength.

The ritual that the Dark Lord performed in the graveyard had a side-effect of transferring Voldemort's main soul piece as well as the rest from Harry to Voldemort, which ensured that some of his sanity returned, though not all of it. It was now a year after the graveyard incident and he was emancipated due to the Tri-Wizard Tournament. The rest of the students who were younger than 16 had been sent home but since his friends had been on the frontlines since the day they met him, the Ministry had emancipated them as well. The army moved closer and Harry glanced down at the Slytherin locket in his hand. It was the last missing piece and according to Dumbledore's notes, he had to release it just before he took a stand and let Voldemort see him. There had also been something about releasing his magic so that Voldemort felt it before he saw him.

Harry took a deep breath and opened the locket. The entire light side knew about what was to happen since no one in their right mind would come between a Void-Kitsune and his or her mate, but he still feared that the so-called dark side would do something extremely stupid. He watched as the soul zoomed straight to its original owner even though on one else could see it. The Dark Lord stumbled slightly, but no one seemed to realize it.

Harry then closed his eyes and let go of the tight grip he held on his magic. He could see Voldemort pick up speed ten seconds later until he angrily shook his head at himself and flew straight to the source. Harry had been warned to put up a shield before the Dark Lord arrived in front of him since they were alone on the rooftop of the school. The rest of the dark side wouldn't be able to get in until the wards fell.

Voldemort immediately threw spell after spell at him and Harry gasped at the intensity in the man's eyes. "I sense my mate! What did you do with him? He's no supposed to be alive anymore, Dumbledore killed him!" Harry could see that the man wasn't in his right mind even after he had absorbed all of his soul pieces and he feared that they had missed one, but then he remembered that he was supposed to grab onto Voldemort somehow for the bond to snap back into place.

He inched forward, but he had to side-step quite a few spells as Voldemort's anger soared. "Answer me, Potter! I was going to give you a quick death after our duel, but it seems that I am going to have to torture the information out of you! Crucio!" Harry almost managed to dodge the curse but he was too slow. His nerves burned as he thrashed around the floor while trying to explain, but anyone who ever tried to speak while being held under a crucio would know how impossible it is.

Voldemort kept repeating the curse when Harry couldn't answer him until he finally seemed to have had enough. The man walked closer. "I see that I would have to torture the information out of your friends because as much as I would like to torture you more, I have a war to win. Goodbye Potter! Avada…" Harry chose that moment to grit through the mind-numbing pain he was in and he grabbed the man's leg while miraculously touching skin. The Dark Lord froze completely but Harry couldn't force himself awake any longer. His mind forced his body to shut down to get away from the pain and he fell into darkness.

…-…-…-…

Lord Voldemort froze as he felt the bond with his mate snap into place and his mind was instantly clearer than it had been in many years. Unfortunately, it also registered the fact that he had just held his mate under the cruciatis curse for ten minutes while other magical beings had lost their minds completely after just five minutes under the full impact he had put behind the curse.

He dropped to his knees beside the boy and frantically started casting the spell for a diagnostics report while trying to drag up the medical knowledge he had gained in his teenage years. The report stated that Harry had not lost his mind yet, but he had retreated into the deepest recesses of his mind, which alarmed Voldemort greatly since most people never returned from that. He cursed as he heard the Hogwarts wards shatter and he picked Harry up in his arms and flew in between the two factions. "Cease fighting at once! The two sides stilled until the dark side registered that their lord had a dead-looking Harry Potter in his arms.

The dark side cheered, but they went quiet as they saw the deadly glare that Voldemort sent them and their marks burned with fury. Only one man seemed to be completely oblivious as he cheered then taunted the light side about the death of their savior and both sides gasped as nine enormous black tails of energy appeared behind a furious Voldemort. Both sides blanched as the man emitted a terrified scream as Voldemort held out his hand and made a crushing motion before sending the man's completely broken and bloodied body into a void.

It was in that moment that everyone knew what they were dealing with and as the Dark Lord vanished with the man in his arms, it was Minerva McGonagall who stepped out and confirmed their thoughts. Harry Potter was Voldemort's mate and Voldemort was a Void-Kitsune. The dark side couldn't go anywhere even though they knew that there would not be a war anymore since their lord had not ordered them to leave and since they were even less inclined to disobey him due to the new information on him, the whole dark side decided to camp out outside Hogwarts. They sent the giants and other creatures home because they were mostly unable to control them and they didn't want to invoke the wrath of their lord if someone was injured.

The light side didn't fare much better as they settled down in the castle and both sides found themselves hoping that Harry Potter was alright because there probably wouldn't be a tomorrow if the savior had died.

…-…-…-…

Meanwhile, Voldemort had taken Harry to his chambers and he was fervently healing the man as much as he could, but the man still hadn't returned from the darkest parts of his mind and Voldemort could feel his inner creature itching to wreak havoc even if it was upon himself for allowing this to happen. He decided to delve into the man's mind as a last resort and he frowned when he found himself in front of a muggle house. He slowly entered and looked around, but he found no one. The soft sound of someone crying reached him and his eyes zeroed in on a cupboard.

He frowned when he saw the locks on the door, but he dismissed it and turned around. Surely Harry wouldn't be in the cupboard. That would indicate that the boy was reliving memories of being abused and Voldemort himself had heard from Severus about how pampered the boy was. Another sniff caught his ears and he sighed before wandlessly opening the locks and the door.

His eyes widened as he took the sight of a three-year-old boy playing with broken toys. He immediately realized two things. One, that the boy was Harry and two, that there was a good chance that his mate had indeed been abused. He mentally promised to make the muggles pay as he slowly bent down and picked up the small boy.

He wished that it was as easy as just carrying the boy out, but if he did that then the 15-year-old man would have the mind of a three-year-old boy. His problem was solved when the boy in his arms disappeared and he was thrust into a new scene. This time he was in the kitchen and the woman seemed like she was about to hit a slightly older Harry with a frying pan. Voldemort took in the fact that the boy's hand was burnt and he immediately used magic to push the woman away from the boy before mending the boy's hand.

It occurred to him that no words were spoken as he was pushed into memory after memory and the silence unnerved him as the boy was silently pushed around while Voldemort came to his aid time after time until, finally, it seemed to reach the time when Harry was with Sirius. Harry was smiling happily with his friends and family around him, but there was a lost look in his eyes. Voldemort didn't know what to do as the buildings completely vanished and he was left to stand in nothingness after the man he now knew as his mate, appeared before him.

"What were your original plans before Dumbledore seemed to mess things up for you?" Voldemort frowned at the question, but he answered it nevertheless. If he wanted to make things right with his mate then he would have to explain everything that had happened even if it now seemed like no one was to blame.

"I wanted to create a world where children wouldn't be abused once it was found that they could do magic. After a few years, the equality of all magic was added to that list. It seems that after I made my third Horcrux, that ideal got warped together to create a twisted belief." Harry nodded at Voldemort's answer and asked another.

"Why did you want to kill my family and the Longbottoms so badly that night?" Voldemort frowned. "Because Dumbledore threatened to harm my mate, but it's clear to me now that he was trying to keep me from harming my mate. I didn't touch you that night so I didn't know you were my mate. At the graveyard, I merely thought the tingling in my veins were because of my rebirth when I touched you and your magic was different even though it felt familiar at the time."

Silence descended on them until Harry gave a sigh and sat down with a humorless laugh. "No offense, but our lives are messed up." Voldemort nodded with a forced smile before looking him straight in the eye. "So what now Harry? I am sorry for cursing you, since sensing the mate that I believed was dead really blinded me with rage. Would you be able to wake up so that we could have a proper conversation?"

Harry nodded slowly but then his eyes widened and he jumped up. "The war! We have to stop the fight! How could I be so stupid? This is no time for sitting down to chat!" Voldemort firmly grabbed his arm. "I stopped the fight before I brought you to my rooms to heal you. Yes, we do have to go back, but not right now. You need to give your body time to get past the shock it took and we need to speak about the rest of the things since things would hopefully be easier to sort out now."

Harry's shoulders sagged in relief and he nodded before retreating from his mind, which also brought Voldemort out with him. Harry blushed slightly as he noticed with a shock that Voldemort looked completely human again and he was leaning far too close in order to look into his mind. The Dark Lord registered his reaction with a slight smirk as he moved to put a little bit of space between them. No use teasing his mate when the situation clearly called for seriousness and the fact that they knew nothing but the basics of each other irritated the Kitsune inside of him.

Harry must have noticed this now that they were bonded and he frowned. "Look, a lot of bad things happened so I can imagine that a lot of people won't be happy about this. The light side would probably think that you will be locking me away somewhere and the dark side, well they would probably expect you to lock me away…" Voldemort's magic immediately filled the room and Harry gasped at the sensation of being shielded. Apparently, the Dark Lord didn't like that idea. Harry quickly placed his hand on Tom's in order to try and calm him before he massacred someone and it was a shock when the magic immediately calmed.

Harry and Tom looked at each other in shock before glancing down at their hands. Voldemort released a sigh. "Well, I guess it's true that you would be able to keep me calm. My followers can think whatever they want but they will do what I tell them to do or they will face the consequences. I still intend to follow through with my original goals and there will just be changes in how it is accomplished."

Harry nodded as he thought about it. "Well, your ideals are pretty good when they are not warped so I may be able to help with that. Nobody knows anything about dark magic except the fact that it can easily kill, but I have seen quite a few healing rituals and spells that have been banned just because it needs questionable ingredients. If you can explain that the ingredients can only be used if it is willingly given then I am sure that there won't be a lot of problems."

Voldemort nodded then looked at him. "So you are ok with this? I know that you have known for a while because of your actions, but can you really say that you won't come to hate me once the war is over? You are in a way sacrificing your life for the murderer of your parents." Harry lightly squeezed the hand that held his. Yes, it felt awkward knowing what they did about each other, but it also felt right.

"I barely remember my parents. I've heard stories about them and seen their pictures, but I don't have memories of my own other than that night. I would have loved to have known them, but it didn't happen and I can't find it in myself to stay angry with you. I can't say that you did what anyone in your shoes would have done because I highly doubt that, but even though we can't just blame everything on the Horcruxes, they were still the main problem. One of the things that I have always wanted was to be loved unconditionally and what better way to have that than to be with your soul mate. The other thing I wanted to do was to be myself and to be able to make my own choices, so the question is, would you allow that?"

The Dark Lord frowned a little at this. "I would give you all the freedom you require if you promise to respect my apparent need to protect you. That means no looking for danger or adventure and you respect my decision when I do not let you do something if I explain why." Harry looked thoughtful for a bit, but he nodded. Both of them knew that they would have to take things slow, but with the war now essentially over and with the people who are still alive not potentially losing their lives, this truly was the best course of action.

Voldemort stood up and Harry blushed when the man tucked him into bed. "Sleep, you look like you haven't had much of it in a while. When you wake up we can sort this entire war thing out." Harry nodded and shifted to get confortable. He wanted to call Tom back because of their bond, but as comfortable as it would be for the night, he would rather not face the awkwardness in the morning since they had barely made peace just half an hour ago.

…-…-…-…

The Dark Lord sat in his study as he fought the need to go lie down with his mate. Just the fact that his mate was still alive sent his magic soaring. He would do everything he can to keep his mate and for that, they would need to go live in one of his other castles. He knew that Harry's friends wouldn't want to go anywhere near a place that was full of death eaters, even with the war now finished.

Ten minutes later a Dementor appeared before him and he nodded his acceptance when it stated that the dark side was camping out at Hogwarts, but all the creatures were leaving. At least one or two of his death eaters seemed to have the foresight of preventing possible trouble. The ministry was already his so it wouldn't be any trouble to free the death eaters who really wanted an end to the war. The creatures would also get the equal rights like he had promised them except for the fact that any murder would now be dealt with through death.

A soft sound of fire crackling had him glancing up and he was astonished to find an egg laying on the table in front of him. He slowly moved to pick it up and he wasn't surprised when it hatched. He was surprised however when he recognized the phoenix as Fawkes. He mentally cursed. _Dumbledore! I may have realized that you were only trying to help, but why did you have to send your pet to haunt my conscience?_

He glared at the bird and in turn got a soft trill. He wasn't really surprised that he could suddenly understand the phoenix since it DID just hatch in his hands. The bird had obviously just greeted him, but he didn't feel like greeting it back even though he had kind of missed it. "What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be hunting down the lightest of the light wizards or some kid with a destiny? Harry is in the other room."

The bird trilled again and Tom looked at it in surprise. "What do you mean you will greet Harry later but he is not your master? It can't be me. In case you haven't noticed I am a Void-Kitsune who has already tortured and killed thousands of people either personally or due to a command." The phoenix looked at him skeptically before giving a tjirp.

"So you're saying Void-Kitsune's aren't bad just misguided huh?" The phoenix nodded and Tom glared at the overgrown chicken. He knew that his mate wouldn't be too happy if he hurt the bloody bird even if he didn't know about its appearance yet. It didn't make any sense but the need to keep his mate happy overrode every sense he had that wanted to roast the bird.

 _ **A month later…**_

Harry was happily walking around the castle with Fawkes on his shoulder. When Tom shook him awake and commanded him to take the 'overgrown fire-chicken' off his hands about 10 hours after he had fallen asleep, he had been so surprised to see Fawkes in his arms that he almost fell out of bed. Since then, Fawkes had done his utmost best to good-naturedly terrorize Tom and Harry couldn't help but laugh when Tom had stated that the bird had it in for him.

The wizarding world was shockingly content with the changes that Tom was now enforcing politically rather than physically even though there was still a lot of anger about the whole Voldemort ordeal. Most pureblood families understood why Tom had been driven insane and the rest had been won over by the positive changes that the man now made. The people had promised Harry that they would give the man a chance to prove himself and he had proven himself many times over in a very short period of time.

People no longer had to fear for their lives and they could go out whenever they pleased. Knockturn Alley actually became famous for the many curio shops since people had never dared to set foot in the place before and crimes were judged harshly since the use of Veritaserum was now mandatory when it wasn't clear on which party was speaking the truth even if they were underage, even though permission was sought from the guardians in such cases.

Crimes were judges harshly but fairly and it didn't matter how much money you had if you were in the wrong you were punished. Any officials who dared to even try to take bribes were sentenced to two years in Azkaban and nobody seemed inclined to tempt fate. Harry had decided to return to Hogwarts and there were reports that there would be a lot more magical creatures and students at the school due to the curriculum changes.

He couldn't say that the atmosphere would not be tense, but Harry knew that once everyone became used to the new Hogwarts, everyone would love it. His trail of thought derailed as he felt a soft kiss on his neck and Harry jumped around with a squeak to see a grinning Tom. He glared at Fawkes. "You are supposed to warn me, not let Tom sneak up on me!"

The bird gave its own version of a smile then flew off and Harry found himself in Tom's arms. "Don't blame him too much. I suppose the treats I give him are starting to make him more lenient towards me." Harry couldn't help but smile at Tom's words, but his smile disappeared into a groan a moment later as Tom's lips descended upon his and their arms encircled each other. The man really knew how to kiss, he would give him that.

 _ **THE END**_

 _ **I would like to say thank you to all the other fanfiction writers both on this site and others. I often found myself looking for things to read in the past, but even though I loved to read, there were only a few books that I really enjoyed. Now I spend the time when I am not working, either writing fanfiction or reading it… of course this means that food and sleep are becoming less and less important and right about now I really wish I was one of those vampires or creatures who didn't have to eat or sleep.**_


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